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Helix catch can install on WRX

37K views 27 replies 12 participants last post by  blkwgn31 
#1 ·
This is what is included in the box. Close up picture of Helix can ready to be installed.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Return line run from the catch can to the intake. OEM hose was cut to make return line fit. Thinner line goes into the catch can (from rocker cover breather tubes).
 
#8 ·
okay I know this is a really noob question but what purpose does the catch car really do? just keep the intake cleaner? Does it prolong the life of the engine....does it help performance....does it serve any real purpose?

Not flaming at all....just don't understand.
 
#9 ·
You may have noticed oil building up in the Y hose or inside IC. This is from blow-by, which gets back into the intake system. Catch can is to prevent oil from entering into turbo and IC. It is suppose to prolong the life of engine.

Optional step: connecting hose off of crankcase vent tube (PCV line) into the line going into a catch can. This is going to be my next mod. :)
 
#10 ·
WRXreX said:
You may have noticed oil building up in the Y hose or inside IC. This is from blow-by, which gets back into the intake system. Catch can is to prevent oil from entering into turbo and IC. It is suppose to prolong the life of engine.

Optional step: connecting hose off of crankcase vent tube (PCV line) into the line going into a catch can. This is going to be my next mod. :)

Ok....I knew that's what it did but I guess I've just never heard of an engine failing due to "oil buildup inside intake"
 
#11 ·
This is all debatable. Some people believe it is all for show, but I want to keep my engine running clean and don't want any sludge or oil building up in the engine. I was amazed at how much oil was inside IC and Y hose when I installed Samco I/C hoses...
 
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#21 ·
So the HELIX did the trick for you? I am looking at a CUSCO or PERRIN one right now... Does adding an oil catch can require more oil at oil changes, or does it burn oil more? Or does it maybe help instead? Sorry for the newb questions
 
#26 · (Edited)
You guys obviously have never owned a Chrysler. That is what destroyed my Sebring LXi. It did $3K worth of engine damage, and there were no signs of it, no warning. Sludge glob just threw the timing chain right through the head cover. It was the German Daimler World Engine, 227bhp with 2.7 liter displacement, my mods were a custom dual exhaust, Weapon-R NeoMatrix cold air intake, Bosch +1 Ytrium "Fusion" plugs (cold), ECU tune, Addco/Eibach sways/springs/links/struts(kyb GR-2(junk)). I was making close to 260hp to the front wheels. The crank and transmission are automatically controlled, there is a lot of odd electronics involved, and it really is super-efficient, losss at the crank is a nominal 3 percent, which shows that German handbuilt stuff IS good, but there was an inherent flaw in the oil pan design, it sat at an angle, even with a balanced spring/strut suspension and aftermarket swaybars still did not allow dirty oil to settle at the plug, but instead high up on a ramplike shape in the pan's base. This oil would occasionally be tossed back up into the hot mixing oil passing through, and a chunk of debris finally made a kicking sound and feeling, as if someone had actually opened the hood and jumped on the engine. It finally killed the car, with this warning happening about 30 seconds before it did so.

I'm not trying to revive this thread, it is perfect as it is, but I recently removed my intercooler just to see what makes it suck. It really is the obvious "downtuned" component of the 2 liter engine, and with a larger, more efficient intercooler, it has proven that the 2 liter block can equal the performance of the 2.5 liter version (moderate lifespan decrease). It stands to reason that the half million intended miles our 2 liters are made to last, chucking it to 350k miles until first rebuild is fine for a near-race tuned engine. I ported and polished mine, the knuckles also, replaced the hose with Samco bits, OBX T-Bolt clamps, and I'm still waiting for my BPV adapter knuckle. It was mad oily inside, and I want to use breathers, not a box. I don't see any use in dumping a canister, I wipe my engine off often enough that a little blowby on everything will just make cleaning easier, and it'll protect the steel that is OEM "polished", which looks like dirt itself without serious steel wool/Noxon7 rubdowns. Breathers look meaner. hehe...

I don't understand what guy means (natirex) about that fluid mixture... are you recommending trans fluid as motor oil?

It is being said below that oil builds up in the lines which are replaced with the catch can and it's lines. I don't know what part of this thread has you thinking that transmission fluid is a concern, and mixing motor oils can be a bad idea. Viscosities are reliant on uniformity of chemical compounds which might conflict at any temperature, and for those in colder climates, your cold starts are safest with use of regularly intervalled oil changes to the same fluid every time. For those on the track, you already have a lab making your stuff, so shup'.(jk)
 
#27 ·
Hey all sorry to revamp such an old thread (not like it hasn't been done before :tongue:) but I just noticed a good amount of blow-by buildup around the hose (externally) where the oil blow-by is dumped into the intake system. I may drive spirited occasionally, but I don't go WOT on every trip to the grocery store.

I'm wondering:
1. Is a good amount of blow-by buildup on outside of the hose normal for a WRX with 75K miles
2. Is it worth it to install a oil catch can on a relatively stock vehicle.
 
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